Star Wars: the New Republic
by Jess168
Summary: After the Rebellion destroyed the Empire, a state of unrest settled over the galaxy. Battles broke out as groups fought for power. Once again, the galaxy was engulfed in war. It seemed that despite the fact that the controlling Empire was gone, the galaxy would never see the happiness the Republic had once brought it. But peace was eventually gained, through the return of the Jedi.
1. Prologue

Prolouge  
After the Empire

After Luke Skywalker and the Rebellion destroyed the second Death Star and the Emperor along with it, a state of unrest settled over the galaxy. New powers rose to take control out of the ashes of the Empire. Battles broke out as groups fought for power. They started out small, but they slowly grew more extreme until the galaxy was engulfed in war once again. It seemed that despite the fact that the controlling Empire was gone, the galaxy would never see the happiness the Republic had once brought it. A new turn of events finally allowed the galaxy to settle into an uneasy peace. The return of the Jedi brought that peace.

After his part in destroying the Empire, Luke Skywalker disappeared to keep his promise to Master Yoda that he would pass on what he had learned from him and Master Kanobi. He began to search the world for force sensitive children. At first he had little success because of the unrest throughout the galaxy. It made traveling hard, because some systems weren't allowing people in or out, and civil wars had already broke out on several planets.

He never gave up on his search, despite his trouble. Guided by the Force, he found a young slave girl who was already very in tune with the force named Katha Xia. He freed her, and began training her in the ways of the force. As Katha's training began, Luke felt the impression to travel to Corouscant. They did so, not knowing what they would find there. While living undercover, Luke continued Katha's training, while constantly searching for more force sensitive people.

After spending about a month on Corouscant, Katha stumbled across a force sensitive Twi'leck girl. Her name was Shanna Renaud. Abandoned by her people, the blue skinned twi'leck had lived in the slum sectors of the city world for several years when Katha discovered her. Luke began training her as well. Shanna led them to a boy named Arlen Lozada, who was an orphan from birth. He had survived by shear luck and a few compassionate people who had took him in from time to time, mainly while he was younger. He too was force sensitive, and when introduced to Luke, began his journey as a Jedi.

Luke continued to search, while training the three young Jedi. They traveled often, the unrest in the galaxy urging Luke to move on. Eventually, they stumbled across a girl who had been made blind in an accident. She was force sensitive, and she had almost intuitively taught herself to see through the Force. By the time Luke found her, she was already well aware of her abilities. Luke continued her training, teaching her things that she couldn't learn on her own.

He then returned to his twin sister, Lea, and opened her to the Force as well. As the young Jedi grew, they knew they needed to interfere with the growing tension in the galaxy. They reunited with those that had led the rebellion against the empire, who wanted to rebuild the Republic. War had long sense broke out among the different power groups, but eventually, the Republic won, and was officially reestablished. It started with the four core worlds; Corouscant, Corella, Tython, and Balmora. Old constants of the Republic soon returned, including Naboo and Dantooine.

The government was reformed; it was basically the same, besides the Jedi were given more power to sway the decisions of the senate, in hopes of keeping the Republic from falling apart. The Jedi were also given full control over the army, in order to prevent wrongful uses of the Republic's forces. On Corouscant, The Jedi began rebuilding the temple, returning it to it's former glory. Luke traveled to Tython, the original home of the Jedi, in hopes of discovering lost artifacts there, while Lea traveled to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. Luke's four students -who were now full-fledged Jedi- were left in charge of the reconstruction of the temple and the Order on Corouscant.

The Order continued to grow. More flocked to it. The four became Jedi Masters, and trained others in the ways of the force. While the temple was being rebuilt, Shanna discovered that the holocron vault had been virtually left untouched over the years. It had been sealed by the last Jedi in hopes of protecting it's many secrets from falling into the wrong hands. Only those who were force sensitive could open their doors. She learned how to unlock the vault, and began studying the holocrons inside. She learned many wonderful things from those holocrons. Some things helped the four rebuild the order; they learned how the selection and training of new Jedi used to work, and how the ranks among the Jedi were understood.

Through the holocrons, they learned that lightsaber crystals grew on Ilum and a few other places, and immediately began harvesting them. They also learned how the lighstaber was built, and after gathering the necessary parts, were able to rebuild the ancient weapon. Luke returned to train the four in the ways of the lighstaber, being the only one trained to wield it. It once again became an icon of the Jedi, and all those who chose to join them were trained in its arts.

Eventually, because of her vast knowledge of the ways of the Jedi, Shanna helped reform the council, and eventually became the Grand Master of the council, but she changed the title to Jedi Scholar. She felt the title of Grand Master was a title that referred too much to the Jedi's power and ignored the true meaning of the Jedi. After the new council voted upon it, the Jedi Scholar became a new rank among the Jedi. The Jedi that held the title would be the leader of the council, and would be in charge of the training of the younglings. Shanna took on the job well, training many new recruits.

Over time, new powers were unlocked through the force. Some powers the Jedi had once had, others were totally new. The Jedi became able to heal themselves and others using the force. They also learned to telepathically communicate with one another. As the Jedi continued to grow, they became comfortable with their place of power and lack of challengers. They, like the Jedi before them, believed the Sith to be truly gone.

They were far from right.

Brewing in the ruins of Korriban was a darkness the galaxy was all too familiar with; the Sith were returning, along with their ever-present quest for power. Led by a mysterious figure known only by Verra, they stayed quiet at first, allowing the Jedi to believe they did not exist, but they would not stay quiet for long. Verra had a bloodthirsty want for power, and would not stand by while the Jedi grew...


	2. Chapter 1: the New Apprentice

Chapter 1  
the New Apprentice

Katha walked up the stairs of the newly reconstructed Jedi Temple towards the main entrance, her dark cloak wrapped around her shoulders. It had been her turn to oversee the Senate meeting, and she was just returning. Luckily everything had gone well, and she had nothing but good news to report to the council. Sense the reformation of the Republic, the Jedi had kept an eye on the Senate to make sure the Senators didn't do anything rash. The new government was still shaky, and not all of the details had been worked out yet.

Walking through the grand entrance of the Jedi temple always sent chills through Katha. Chills of pride, to be exact. The temple was beautiful; large and grand, the large door to the outside world were big enough for a ship to pass through. It opened up on a grand entrance hall, the high ceiling was supported by tall, cream marble pillars. Windows lined the hall. On one side, they looked out over the training room below, and on the other, they gave a beautiful view of Corouscant's skyline. The floor was marble, with a fine red carpet running down the center of the hall. The sun shone in from the windows that overlooked the city, making the marble floors and pillars sparkle beautifully.

Just before the end of the hall, the windows stopped, and the marble flooring was replaced by a dark red carpet. The halls were painted a tan color that complimented the color of the marble pillars and floors before. The hall ended in a round room with a beautiful waterfall and pond surrounded by potted plants. More hallways branched off in both ways, leading to more parts of the temple. Near the entrance to the main hall, a staircase led to the upper floors, and the hall to the right included a staircase to the lower floors. Katha took the staircase up, and made her way along that hall. At the very end of the hall, she stepped into an elevator, that took her all the way up to the top of the center tower on the temple. She When she stepped out, their was only one door; the door to the council room was open, and she could see that the other masters had already gathered. The large room was fashioned after the council room before the Clone Wars. This had been Shanna's idea, along with some of the salvaged artifacts scattered throughout the temple.

Katha walked in and took her seat, completing the small ring. There were still only four Jedi Masters, which meant there were only four on the council. the door to the room slid shut as she entered, signaling the start of the meeting. She glanced to Shanna, the blue skinned twi'leck sat next to Katha, wearing simple gray robes in the traditional style of the Jedi. One of her long lekku draped over her shoulder, and the other rested against her back. Her vivid purple eyes scanned the room, studying the faces of the people around her. She smiled slightly, and Katha couldn't help but wonder what had put her in a good mood. She also noticed that once again she had opted to leave her silver-bladed lightsabers in her quarters. Rarely was she seen on the temple grounds with her weapons. Shanna turned to look at Katha. "Sense we are all here, let us begin. Katha, tell us, how did the Senate meeting go?"

"It went well, for only their second meeting. The Senator from Naboo was officially established; a young man by the name of Kane filled that roll. I think he'll represent his people well," Katha replied.

"What about their decision on having a Chancellor or not?" Arlen asked. Katha glanced at him. He sat across from her. He was tall and broad shouldered, with close cropped brown hair and dark green eyes. He wore tan and white robes, with a long brown cloak, and at his side, he carried the green lightsaber of the Jedi Consular.

"They argued that for quite some time. It took up most of the meeting. Most seemed against it, but they couldn't decide on who would lead the government. They asked me of my opinion on the matter, and I told them that I thought no one person should have so much power. They agreed, and decided against a Chancellor," Katha answered.

"How will the Senate be led then?" Shanna asked.

"All the senators will have equal power. They asked that the council send one of our members to each of the meetings to preside. The Jedi will keep order, and keep record of the votes. In other words, they are putting a lot of faith in us four," Katha informed them.

"What if the Jedi are not available? In a time of peace such as this, it is a reasonable request, but we must be realistic; this peace will not always last, and eventually the Jedi will be needed elsewhere. We cannot always watch over the Senate," Tabiona said, speaking up for the first time. Her pale green eyes stared off at a point above Katha. It still unnerved her to look at the blind Jedi directly because she knew in a way, Tabiona could see her, despite being blind. It amazed Katha that she had learned to use the Force to 'see' the world around her.

Shaking off her feeling of unease, Katha answered Tabiona's question. "They are still settling that. I pointed it out. I guess they'll eventually come to a conclusion."

"Hopefully one we can work with. They like to back us into a corner, don't they? For now we will fulfill their request. We have been already. I still think it's wise for us to keep an eye on the Senate until they are fully established anyway. Anything else?" Shanna questioned.

"Four other systems have decided to ally themselves with us; Onderon , Ansiun, Cambria, and, Mandalore. There's several others who have shown interest in our offer. Others still have decided to remain separate from any groups. They will govern themselves. Most of them have said they will remain friendly to the Republic, but will not join. Very few systems remain openly hostile. Other than that, nothing has changed," Katha explained.

"It's good to hear the Republic is being considered by so many planets," Arlen muttered as he leaned back in his seat. Katha nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, we have an important matter to attend to. One of younglings has come of age, and is ready to become a Padawan Learner. She will need a master." Shanna paused, and turned to Katha. "Katha, I have seen through the force that you are to be her mentor. Will you train her?" This surprised Katha. She didn't feel ready for an apprentice at all. After thinking for a moment, she nodded. "Good. The child has meditated as required and opened herself to the force, and has told me she is ready. Let's make her an official apprentice now." She waved her hand, and the door slid open. A young girl, around the age of 12, walked into the room. She had long black hair tied into a tight ponytail, and blue eyes. She looked a little nervous. She glanced around the room, not meeting the eyes of any of the masters, until her gaze landed on Shanna. The twi'lek smiled encouragingly. The girl seemed to relax. She walked forward.

Katha had seen the Padawan ceremony once before when Arlen had gotten an apprentice a few years back, and so she knew how it worked. She stood and moved to the middle of the room. She gestured for the girl to join her, who moved to stand next to her. Standing close to the girl, she noticed she actually kind of looked like Katha; their hair was both long and black, and they both had blue eyes. Katha's eyes were much paler than the girl's though, and her skin tone was lighter. "Katha, this is Arita Gre," Shanna said, introducing the youngling to her. Arita nodded to Katha in greeting, and Katha smiled. "Let's begin. Arita?"

The girl sighed next to Katha, and then began to speak, softly at first, but with conviction. "I, Arita Gre, swear my loyalty to the Jedi Order. I pledge to keep the Code, and to let it guide my actions as I represent the Order. I understand my duties as an apprentice, and will do my best to follow the teachings of my Master."

Shanna nodded her approval, and then turned her gaze to Katha. "Katha, I have asked you to take on this apprentice, because I see a similarity in the two of you that will help guide her, and make it easy for you to teach her. You have great strength in the Force. I trust you will pass on what you have learned to Arita?" Shanna asked.

"To the best of my abilities," Katha replied.

"Arita, you are now officially a Padawan of the Jedi Order. May the Force be with you through your training. May it guide your master, and you," Shanna finished. Arita bowed her head respectfully, and then turned and did the same to Katha. Afterward, Katha returned to her seat, and Arita stood behind her chair. The meeting continued, but Katha discovered she was struggling to concentrate. She couldn't help but think of her apprentice, and how she would train her. She had never had an apprentice before, and part of her worried she would screw up teaching her. She couldn't help but repeat one line of what Shanna had said at the end of the ceremony; 'May the force guide your master' _Well, _she thought, _I'm going to need a lot of guidance._


End file.
